Dante Fowler Jr. or Yannick Ngakoue, who will impress most against Bucs?
By Luke Sims
Dante Fowler Jr. and Yannick Ngakoue are the young Jacksonville Jaguars pass rushers the team has pinned its hopes on. Can they deliver?
When the Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t pick up a premiere pass rusher in the offseason and instead drafted Yannick Ngakoue in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, fans may have cringed.
It isn’t that Ngakoue is a bad player. In fact, he looked incredibly sharp in his first game action against the New York Jets in the preseason.
It’s that the Jags are placing their faith in Ngakoue and 2015 first rounder Dante Fowler Jr. to deliver at the all-too-important “leo” pass rushing role that has been virtually nonexistent in the last three seasons. Fowler’s injury from last season and relatively short depth behind him and Ngakoue had this writer particularly queasy.
In the first preseason game Fowler didn’t deliver in any big way. He looked to play fast and was involved but he didn’t flash as the top player that the Jags need him to be. This is to be expected and he’ll get his feet under him as he adjusts to the NFL after a year on the sidelines.
Ngakoue, in contrast, looked particularly sharp. He contributed by getting his first sack as a professional and looked ready to be a dominant part of the defense. Admittedly, he was playing against inferior competition but he looked ready to compete against anyone.
The Dante Fowler vs Yannick Ngakoue rivalry could be a fun competition to watch through the preseason and into the 2016 regular season. Both players look to be good enough to disrupt opposing offenses. Ngakoue will likely be a significant part of the rotation on the defensive line and if he can continue to impress he may manage to get more playing time at Fowler’s expense.
More Fowler: Dante Fowler needs more reps in preseason
This isn’t a true preseason battle, but a friendly look at who can be a great player off the edge in the coming season. Ultimately, it looks like the Jags have two quality candidates regardless of who ends up with more playing time.